The invention relates to the field of particulate removal from gases and particularly to scrubbers of the type which wet the particles and carry them away in a flow of water. One example of a type of scrubber which is widely used for collecting the flyash from municipal sludge incinerators is a venturi scrubber which uses a scrubbing tank or tower approximately 34 feet high and 8 feet in diameter containing 12 spray nozzles which spray the gas with a total of about 100-120 gpm of water. A 647 rpm fan sucks the flue gas through the scrubber tower at about 25,000 CFM and utilizes about 30 BHP to move the gas and overcome a pressure drop of about 2.8-3.0 inches of water in the tower. The pressure drop is introduced mainly by the fact that the inlet gas is channeled through a narrow restriction of about 0.69 square feet at the end of a square inlet pipe having a cross-sectional area of 7.56 square feet. The restriction increases the gas velocity and causes it to swirl upwardly around the side walls of the tower which are constantly sprayed with a high pressure spray of water. Collisions of the water droplets with the flyash particles wet the particles and cause them to move outwardly against the wall by centrifugal force and then drop along the water washed walls to a drain where they are carried away and usually mixed in with the sludge being burned. The large volumes of water required entail a significant cost in their own right in addition to enhancing corrosion conditions at the suction fan. Although it is known that particles are easier to collect as their velocity decreases, the venturi scrubber must greatly increase their velocity to cause them to concentrate near the wetted tower walls. Electrostatic precipitators are not a feasible alternative due to their cost, and baghouse systems would present too high a pressure drop even if fabrics could be found to handle the heat of the flue gases.